Ball Adam 1/23/08 AmCult 262 Professor Andrea Smith Response #3
Resistance and Renewal by Celia Haig-Brown, an argument is put forth that the industrial/residential school is the principle feature in the school of thought known as aggressive civilization. The book really spoke to me, because the author lived through everything she talked about so it felt so much more real. This was without a doubt the best book covered thus far in this class. The book was also a lot better because it actually presents facts and not biased opinions, so it seemed much more legitimate in that regard. The main idea of the book is the retelling of the terrible education she and her contemporaries received at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. She tells of all the abuses she suffered through from her teachers all the way to her fellow students. Also the lions' share of the blame was put on the Catholic Church and Canadian Government, both of which are completely justified. It was also very interesting to see another government other than that of the United scrutinized States for their treatment of the Native peoples. Reading Celia's experiences was particularly difficult for me to hear. I am a confirmed Catholic and go to mass every Sunday. I also spent all my childhood, pre-school through 12th grade attending Catholic School. Both of my parents also attended Catholic School, so it is really a part of who I am. My experiences were very pleasant and happy at Catholic School so hearing the things that happened to her were rather hard to believe. But they were so illustrated and spelled out. I truly feel empathy for what she went through, and also feel a bit responsible because it was my church that did this to her. Also the stories of sexual abuse make a lot of
sense with all of the reports that have surfaced over the last 7 years or so. The Catholic Church really needs to do a better job of policing itself. I would hope that conditions have since improved dramatically for her people and the experiences the Native children have at Catholic School is similar to what I experienced growing up.